1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of flexible customer proposal generation systems, and more particularly, to an annuity system which enables customers to design flexible annuity or Certificate of Deposit (CD) settlement options, and single premium immediate annuity benefits, while providing the company generating the proposal with a detailed allocation of proceeds by investment duration.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current annuity and CD systems provide the customer with a limited amount of features which crudely determine the requested type of program. For instance, an annuity proposal with a fixed period installments is typically based upon a single interest rate. In addition, the current annuity and CD proposals also do not factor in actual costs but provide a very crude estimate on the costs of the proposal to the company, resulting in a vague, unsupported charge to the customer.
Current annuity and CD proposals also are not developed interactively and simultaneously in front of the customer so that the customer will receive the proposal while the customer waits. Further, the existing annuity and CD systems do not prepare an investment matching report for the company indicating what types of investments are necessary over the payment period of the proposal for the company to safely cover the proposal from a business perspective.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a more accurate annuity or CD proposal generation system which more accurately determines and generates the customer proposal. It is also desirable to provide a recommended investment schedule which provides the company selling the annuity or CD proposal with a detailed description of the necessary investments and rate of return to ensure that the annuity or CD proposal is adequately financed.
Further, it is also desirable to allow the customer to cater or alter the annuity or CD proposal to the specific needs of the customer. That is, it is desirable that the customer be allowed to designate the payment period of the annuity or CD as well as any guaranteed investment return.